Soul Work For Moms: Evolution Through Mothering

I’m so thrilled to bring April Combs Mann to you today! April is SUCH a talented musician, and she’s combined that talent with her equally amazing writing skills and Waldorf training to create a podcast for children and families. I LOVE her deep compassion for children, and she inspires me to keep the magic alive - not only for my children, but for myself as well. This episode is chock-full of ways to connect with your children. I think you’ll love April’s humor, ease, and openness. I’ve also ended the episode with one my favorite songs of all time, written and sung by April, from another project of hers- The Honneycombs. So be sure to listen to the end for an extra treat. Enjoy!

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In this episode you’ll hear:

-How April went from fronting a rockband to creating a fairytale songs and stories podcast

-Why she believes in keeping innocence, music and delight at the core of her work

-An explanation of the Waldorf education model, and how you can incorporate Waldorf-inspired practices in your home

-How sometimes, we need to keep the magic and wonder alive even if our spouse isn’t into it

-How April instilled a love of story and reading into her children

-April’s thoughts on the term “Devoted Wife and Mother”

-Some honest sharing about how she struggled during the early years of mothering

Mentioned in the show:

April Eight Songs & Stories Podcast | Podcast Instagram

April on Instagram

April Eight Album: Songs for A Magical Winter

Tajci Cameron

Matt Penkin Metal Brainiac Podcast

Sparkle Stories

Download your FREE Soul Work Sheet #30

Books Mentioned:

Percy Jackson & The Olympians

Harry Potter

Chronicles of Narnia

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Songs Played:

The Goblin Dance

Little Moon

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Katelyn Denning is a full-time working mother of two, a wife and a life coach who mentors new moms just returning to work.

Having been a career driven professional for the better part of a decade before becoming a mom, Katelyn struggled with finding her identity and juggling it all when she returned to work after her first maternity leave.

Through counseling, coaching, research, support and plain old trial and error, Katelyn was finally able to hit her stride as a working mom and today, helps other new moms tackle mom guilt, be more present at work and at home and simplify their lives so they too can enjoy working motherhood. While her “me-time” doesn’t look the same as it did before kids, you can often find Katelyn squeezing in a quick workout, listening to audiobooks or enjoying the luxury that is a hot cup of coffee from her local coffee shop in Northside (Cincinnati).

Katelyn and I spoke about all kinds of things affecting new working moms (hello, guilt), but this episode has a ton of inspiration for moms in every situation!

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=5939900

Listen on iTunes | Listen on Stitcher

In this episode you’ll hear:

-How Katelyn got into the very specific niche of helping new moms transition back into work

-Ways that moms can get more support

-Why it’s important to choose to let some aspects of our lives go during this stage, and how morning those losses is okay.

-Guilt: the many places it can come from and some ways to get to the core of it

-What a coaching session with Katelyn might look like

-Some of the exercises that Katelyn uses with her clients

-How to decide if you could benefit more from a coach or a therapist

-Tips for transitions between work and home

Mentioned on the Show:

Katelyn’s Website:

Katelyn on Facebook

Katelyn on Instagram

Maternal Mental Health Checklist

The Mom Hour Podcast: http://lifelistened.com/category/mom-hour/

Joshua Becker:  https://www.becomingminimalist.com

Allie Casazza: http://alliecasazza.com

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Dr. Catherine Pearlman is the founder of The Family Coach, a private practice specializing in helping families resolve everyday problems related to discipline, sleep, and sibling rivalry, among other issues. She is the proud parent of a son in elementary school and a daughter in middle school. Her syndicated Dear Family Coach column has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and many regional parenting magazines. She has appeared on Today and her advice has been featured in Parenting, Men's Health, CNN.com, and The Huffington Post. Dr. Pearlman is a licensed clinical social worker who has been working with children and families for more than twenty years. She is an assistant professor of social work at Brandman University and received her PhD in social welfare from Yeshiva University and a masters of social work from New York University.

I chat with her about her new book, Ignore It!, and how selectively looking the other way can not only relieve us from having to nag our children, but it also gives them the space to learn from their mistakes. This book was a game changer in my home, and hopefully it can help create a little more peace in your family as well.

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=5873408

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In this episode, you’ll hear:

-how Catherine came up with the premise of this book

-why “ignoring it” works

-behaviors you can ignore

-behaviors you can’t ignore

-specifics on how to selectively ignore

-a different take on timeouts

-how quickly you can expect to see behavioral changes

-why rewarding good behavior is important

-the difference between a reward and a bribe

-some specific scenario questions submitted from listeners

and more!!!

Catherine’s Website

Catherine on Twitter

Catherine on Facebook

Soul Work Sheet #28

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A fresh and upcoming voice reminding us of our shared humanity, Lola Wright was raised by hip-hop and has navigated domestic abuse, addiction, corporate success, and welfare.  Lola is the leader of a preeminent mindfulness-based community organization in Chicago.  A wife and mother of 4 children, she is a reminder of power, faith, trust and straight up determination.  Lola is a strong voice who reminds her listeners “Come on, we got this!"

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=5157629

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In this episode we talk about:

-Having a sense of self and knowing who you are

-Spiritual Bypassing

-Balancing our well-being with political action

-Being role models of compassion and connection for our children

-Curiosity as a bridge builder

-What Lola’s “Love Prayer” is

-Masculine and feminine energy in the political world

-Holy disrupters

-The energy of anger

Mentioned on the show:

Lola Wright

Lola on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Bodhi Spiritual Center

Bodhi on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

The Conscious Parenting Summit by BringIt! Home

Sister Giant

Marianne Williamson

The Young Turks

Lion’s Roar Article Anger

Enneagram

SOUL WORK SHEET DOWNLOAD

I chat with women’s empowerment expert, Rachel W. Cole about why she feels that dieting is rooted in oppression, and why intuitive eating can be seen as a form of activism. If you struggle with body image and/or your relationship to food, this episode is for you.

Lindsay Dewald is a wife, the mother of two young girls and a small business owner in Cincinnati Ohio. She and her husband started The City Flea (a curated, urban flea market that runs monthly May-December) and are just about to wrap up their 6th year of business. Together they are passionate about their community, small business, Montessori education, and design. They just recently built a home in the historic neighborhood of Over-The-Rhine, where Lindsay spends her days making home and mothering. Today, you’ll hear Lindsay talk about how she got into the Montessori lifestyle, how her experience of mothering was turned upside down after the birth of her second child, as well as the joys and realities of city living.

Today’s episode is about surrender, it’s about trusting the process, but really it’s about postpartum depression. Some topics on the show are heavier than others, and today’s topic is on that list, but it also can be on the list of incredibly inspiring stories. This episode features Olivia Gennett, a mother of two who had postpartum depression and decided to embrace it. She now says she is through her depression, and can look back on it and say it was truly a gift.

*In this particular story, Olivia chose to not seek medical attention, and so it’s important to me to say that by sharing her story, I am NOT suggesting that you do the same as she did. I’m not a doctor or counselor; my role is to share stories of motherhood, and you get to take from it what you want to. If you think that you may be suffeing from postpartum depression, please be sure to consult with your health care provider for individual advice regarding your own situation. This show does not advise one way or another as to how to go about treating depression. With that being said….today’s episode DOES support the foundation of Soul Work For Moms- which is that our pain can be used for our own transformation, but know that sometimes that transformation may need the support of therapy or medical treatment. So again, this is one woman's story, and it may not be what your story looks like.

Beth Nowak is a believer, dreamer, wife and mother, former teacher, successful entrepreneur, TEDx presenter, inspirational speaker, and mental health activist. After enduring a series of traumatic events as a child, she attempted to fill her emotional voids in a variety of unhealthy ways, including drugs and alcohol, binging and purging, cutting and other self-harming behaviors, ultimately leading to severe depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts as a teen and young adult. Hiding behind academic achievements, she earned her Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Masters Degree in Montessori Education before teaching Kindergarten for 12 years in one of the highest-achieving school districts in the country. Desperately searching for ways to help young children find purpose and passion to help increase their self-esteem, she resigned from teaching in 2012 to create Giving Families and its Good Mail Challenges. She now shares her story with people of all ages, inspiring them to overcome their past so they can live in the present and enjoy the future. In this episode, I talk with Beth about her childhood and how that has influenced her mothering, what she’s learned about anger and forgiveness, and how she raises her children to be givers.

Kerrie Woodhouse is a mother to twins, and she used to do a whole lot of what she calls: Very Serious Things. But a few years ago she says she came to her senses and remembered that life is supposed to be fun. For Kerrie, creative expression is fun. So she creates something with paint and words every day… and then..she posts it on Instagram. Kerrie has just published her first book, Finding Grace. It’s is an illustrated book for adults that explores the meaning of grace and its power to help us find acceptance of what we do not have in our lives in order to begin to find the joy in what we do have.

Finding Grace is dedicated to Kerrie’s dear friend who was bravely battling breast cancer at around the time I started drawing the whimsical little girls that now appear in the book.

Kerrie says that While drawing these girls and spending time with her friend during her treatment for breast cancer she spent a lot of time contemplating grace. As such, in her book, she’s included quotations about grace that she found meaningful, along with her own thoughts on this most admirable quality.

Maria Emmerich is a National and International Best Selling author of “The Ketogenic Cookbook“. She's also authored 8 other books including several cookbooks and 3 nutritional guide books including “Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism” Her newest book is called "Quick and Easy Ketogenic Cooking”. Maria lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their two children, and today, she shares her family’s adoption story with us.